Under the Moon
by Andytheyoung
Summary: Jack moves to Mineral Town after recieving a letter containing the will of his dear old friend. Jack must now turn the farm into a raging success in under a year and live happily while doing it. Being the city boy he is though, help might be required from the townsfolk. Here is his story, Jack's moon. The love in this story will be voted on. I prefer Popuri and Ann though.
1. Letters

_**Warning: May contain material not suitable for children under the age of 14. Viewer's discretion is**_ advised due to the story containing material involving language, alcohol use, and suggestive themes. You have been warned and if the content of this story happens to offend you and this warning is clearly visible; then I cannot take responsibility for whatever goes on through your head during or after reading the content of this story. Leave if you are offended. Enjoy! R&R please!

Disclaimer: Natsume and Nintendo own Harvest Moon. (I think)

Under the Moon

_Chapter: Epilogue of Letters_

It was a day like any other day. Jack was doing his chores around his parents' house to pass the time. Any minutes in Jack's day were used on work to keep him busy. Jack was looking for an apartment in the city so he can start living on his own, but going to an agriculture based college wasn't too wise for the city raised boy who just recently graduated from said school. There was nothing that school taught him that didn't involve living in the country and on a farm. Sure he did learn how to advertise, work phone lines, and mess with stock; though those things did make him a little wealthy, they just didn't feel right.

Jack started to remember his time on an old friend's farm, long ago. He remembered the cows as they chewed their cud and rested outside in the hot sun, the chickens as they swarmed him for taking their hard made eggs, the old dog that he would play with on long days when the old man was busy working in town, and the girl he had met while playing on said farm. It was a bummer when he had to leave, but he only got to stay for one summer. Then his parents would come and pick him up. Jack longed for more of those days; as he longed for the old man's next letter. About a half a year ago, the old man stopped sending Jack letters. Jack only felt that the old man was just getting busy again; retirement only stays exciting for the first some years.

He pushed any of those thoughts out his head and continued mopping the floor. He was going to mop that floor so hard it would shine for decades to come; his parents forever proud of him once more. He needed some actual work bad. His parents said he could go to the city and work at a nearby pub to get his advertisement career going; Jack just wasn't looking for that kind of work though.

The day had finally reached early evening and the mail was just arriving. Jack ran from his post inside the three story mini mansion to the end of their cement driveway and watched as the mail man drove off to the next house. He took the letters from the tin mailbox and began reading through the sets of messages and bills, hoping for a letter from his old friend. To his luck, one was there. He was only at the front door of the mini mansion when he got half way through reading his letter from the old man. He would have been more than willing to wait another full year for a different letter than get the news he was presented with; the only farmer of Mineral Town had died. Along came a piece of paper which Jack managed to figure out was the will. Not a copy of the will, the will the old farmer had personally written out with pen. There was no use to make copies of the will anyway, for Jack was the only one who inherited something; everything. The farm was his, the animals were his if the nearby farm related shops didn't buy them, any money the old man had saved up was his, even every crumb in the old man's pantry was Jack's.

Only one good thing came out of this letter besides a new chance in Mineral Town, his childhood dream home. It wasn't gold in a chest under a tree, a stairway to heaven, or beautiful polygamist women in their mid-twenties waiting for his arrival. The only other good thing was… that it was mandatory.


	2. Adventure to Mineral Town

_**Warning: May contain material not suitable for children under the age of 14. Viewer's discretion is**_ advised due to the story containing material involving language, alcohol use, and suggestive themes. You have been warned and if the content of this story happens to offend you and this warning is clearly visible; then I cannot take responsibility for whatever goes on through your head during or after reading the content of this story. Leave if you are offended. Enjoy! R&R please!

Disclaimer: Natsume and Nintendo own Harvest Moon. (I found out!)

_Chapter 1: Adventure to Mineral Town _

Jack started packing as soon as he got into the house. He was to set out that very same day; no intentions saying to stay the night were in his head. Mineral town was hours away from the city which his family lived right outside of, meaning he would be sleeping on the boat that he will be riding on. His parents would full heartedly agree with Jack's choice for a new life in the country side. His parent's were always away on business so they never really gave a thought about Jack. They were supposed to kick him out the next day anyway. Where else would they send him; the city had immediately lost its appeal.

Jack finished packing his things into his suit case and got into his snazzy car, being the last time he would see it. A good car should never go to waste, so Jack gave it to his parents to keep as a "thanks for letting me stay for college" present. He would leave the letter, keep the will, and leave a note he wrote himself so his parents wouldn't think he ran off to elope with some blond, busty, and unintelligent broad. It happened once and Jack would refuse to let it happen again. That girl did so many things to him, and felt him in all the wrong ways; he would live with the fear of car batteries for the rest of his life.

Jack made the engine roar, making the empty yards of his neighbors do absolutely nothing. He didn't live in an area where people were everywhere. He backed out and headed towards the city to get a ticket straight to Mineral Town by boat. The city would be full of evening traffic and Jack wanted to avoid it at all costs. Jack backed out of the driveway and headed towards the city, putting the gas pedal to the floor of the car. He was ready for this in every thought.

After about twenty minutes of driving he had arrived at the city. The bustle of such city filled Jack's ears with the sounds of chatter, car horns, angry pedestrians on payphones, and the little old lady beating the thief over the head with her cane and causing him to bleed from the ears. He drove up to the city docks and left his car in the nearby parking lot; keys in the glove box. The weather was going to hell, soon a large storm was supposed to sweep right over the area and make it dangerous for boats to leave; speed was the key to getting that boat.

Jack ran into the harbor and got a ticket from a nice lady in a uniform. While walking away from the booth he looked back to see the young women looking at him, and she winked at the handsome young man. This made dear old Jack turn his head forward with more than just his goal on his mind and a blush on his face. He was a man, what else would be on his mind?

The dock had few boats in the water. Mostly large cruise ships that can take a large weather beating and a speed boat that looks like it would be destroyed in the upcoming weather. The speed boat had a chalk board sign that pointed out its obvious destination; though obvious as it was, Jack took a good fifteen minutes to search for the correct boat. Even with the help of the sign and the beautiful woman in uniform, Jack took the longest time to successfully find the one boat he needed out the three that were there. Jack only looked stupid, but in reality he was playing them for fools to do his dirty work; or so he thought. His mind was busy processing his plans for the farm, noticing all of the work he is going to do is going to suck.

Boarding the boat was easy. A few lackeys emerged from the deck to take Jack's bags and store them for the trip. All Jack could think was "Oh my Deity I'm actually doing this." The boat took off with much speed towards the storm that would surely rip it apart. The only thing Jack would regret at that moment would be falling asleep on the deck.

Harsh winds blew at the ship. Jack had not awoken from his deep slumber, as water pelted him in the face. The deep dark blue kept splashing against the boat, causing said boat to sway and rock Jack back to sleep whenever a large piece hail found its way to his forehead; all the dear fellow had on his mind was the beautiful woman back at the dock and the girl from his past; choosing between the two somehow made the dream complicated and made Jack wonder how faithful he could be to his goal in Mineral Town. Then again, the girl he met at the docks could be the girl from his past as very little evidence on identity is known.

The crew of the ship decided to do the smart thing and not waste their lives trying to save Jack. Of all things, Jack was the most hunkered down thing on that ship and there was no argument about it. Of all things, two members of the crew had already lost their lunch. Waves beat against the boat with extreme force, causing the men to slam against the walls of the ship. Things were looking pretty bad for almost everybody on the ship. All the men could do at the moment was sit down and pray. The plan for avoiding the storm had failed, and now everybody was going to pay. Everyone closed their eyes and hoped for the best.

The storm was more powerful than it was lasting, as the waves slowly began to shows signs of calming and the sky went from heavy dark blue to a pure blue sky. Jack managed to sleep through all of it; though the crew of the ship couldn't keep on their feet. The night had passed with no casualties, other than a soaking wet Jack. One crew member looked at the sky and took off his purple bandana, hoping nothing would sack them for the rest of the journey; though he knew fairly well that his journey would not stop in Mineral Town.

Mineral Town was in sight meaning the long and arduous trip was an hour from being over. The ship slowed in its course to reach land so the crew could have some time to prepare for docking. Jack had awoken as the sun slowly reached its peak in the sky; leaving the crew astonished at his graceful slumber abilities. Jack got up from his lounge chair and began helping the crew members get the cargo ready for the transaction at dry land. The purple bandana wearing sailor approached Jack and tugged at his sleeve.

"Aye buddy. Are you feeling alright? It's none of my business but it looks like you took a heavy beating last night." The tanned bandana wearing sailor said with a brow raised. "We all thought you were in the ocean taking a deep sea nap."

Jack looked at him with extreme confusion; the bandana wearing man made little sense as to what happened the night before. Jack pointed at his face and gave him a "me?" expression hoping to get his point across. The sailor let out his hand and laughed a bit. He shrugged of the farmer to be's confusion and began to make another conversation.

"It was nothing dear friend. My name is Kai by the way. You really have some balls to stay out in that storm we had." Kai said giggling and exclaiming in his salty tone.

"Name's Jack. You take this trip often?" Jack said in his clear inland Northern European accent, taking Kai's hand and shaking it.

"Not at this time of the year. I run a food stand on the beach of the town over the summer when I can't get any contracts for overseas shipments." Kai said scratching the back of his neck to find a bug bite. "Damn bugs; probably built their nests in my ship."

Jack let out a laugh as Kai smacked a stalking mosquito that wanted some blood from his tanned arms. The boat had found its way to the dock and crates of materials were being carried off to a building, where a large and strong man stood outside of. Jack stood in confusion on everything he saw. Besides hearty sailors and the large man, nobody could be seen. It was hot for the final day of winter and the beach would have been expected to be full. He really needed to investigate the customs of his new neighbors.

"Pretty small town ain't it? When I was a boy I would pick grapes for a winery at a town extremely similar to this for a job." Kai said after getting the last crate pulled out of the boat and into the building. He leaned on a guard rail on the dock. "I left when a local girl I fell in love with decided to marry a farmer that only recently came to town. That was a good three years ago though. I don't even remember the name of the girl anymore, nor do I remember the name of the farmer." A smile polluted his face.

"Sounds depressing." Jack said trying to ease on the tension. "Is that why you took a job with the seas?"

"Yes. I didn't have anywhere else to go anyway; a bed and drink in any land or boat is home to any true wanderer." Silence erupted between the two. Kai was the first to break such silence. "So you plan on living here mate? It's a fine place to hunker down if so."

"I don't know to tell the truth. I had to come due to a mandatory meeting with the mayor so I can inherit some farm I used to play on when I was a pre- teen." Jack began to lean on the same guard rail as Kai. "I don't even really know if I'll stay. I could try for a month to get it set up then sell off the land and everything on it."

"Sounds like you aren't too sure. Why did you come then? If you don't plan on staying then what was the point?" Kai asked trying to pull together all the pieces. "What pushed you here, mate?"

"When I first received the news, I was so excited. Only when I started getting here did I realize that I was literally rushing to throw hundreds of responsibilities onto my shoulders. Just thinking about it sounds stupid." Jack replied getting himself off the rail to stand tall. "I know that this is my dream though. Coming back here was my dream; staying was something else."

Kai let out a chuckle and pat Jack on the arm. "I'm sure that you will make the right decision Jack. I got to load some supplies on the ship now so here is where we part ways." Kai just up and walked away towards the boat to help load in supplies. Jack didn't even look to see him go; his feet were headed towards the town to begin his decision. Jack was ready for this in every thought.

The walk through town wasn't bad. It was an extremely small area with shops and some houses; no need for loud and sexy cars like Jack had been custom to. This was good exercise for him anyway and he needed to get his scrawny body in shape if he were to run a farm. The gates to the farm were in sight. Jack took a deep breath and walked in.

Nobody was there. Jack wasn't pleased at all on this considering he would probably have to go to the mayor's house and retrieve his paper work. He kicked a rock and sent if a few feet away. Jack was truly bored and the mayor was nowhere in sight. He was tempted to explore the shack next to the entrance to the farm, though if the mayor were to come while Jack was inside he might go away. Jack just decided to sit out in front of the farm like a weirdo and think about his plans for the farm. He noticed the buildings were in a state of extreme disrepair and everything looked like it was about to fall down. Even the empty dog house looked like a death trap.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing here! Have some respect, the old man who lived here just died!" Said an angry voice from behind, scaring the crap out of Jack.

A small man approached Jack from behind and started kicking his heels. Jack turned around and looked around to find nobody. The kicking still continued and he looked down to find a round man with a tamed mustache, red clothes, and a huge red top hat. Jack looked at the portly little man in the eye and poked him in the head.

"Who are you?" Jack said in a calm voice. "Have you seen the mayor, dude?"

"Who am I… who am I!? Who are you!? I have half a mind to throw your trespassing ass out of here!" The little portly man was turning red; cherry red.

"I'm Jack. Now if you excuse me I need to go get the mayor of this fine town so I can get my paper work." Jack said trying to push past the little cherry man.

"Jack… oh crud. It's nice to meet you Jack. I'm Mayor Thomas! You're a day early." Mayor Thomas said trying to smile as hard as he could. Jack stopped right in front of the little portly mayor and gave him the death glare. Thomas realized how bad he just messed up and Jack was anything but pleased.

"So I get this rundown piece of crap farm that sits right next to a town of rude townsfolk? Am I allowed to sell the land? It is very tempting…" Jack said with anger blazing lightly in his eyes.

"Well you can _after _you get it all set up. But until then, no." Thomas at this point was about to put his hands over his head when Jack heard that. Jack held out his hand and demanded "Paperwork, now."

Thomas gave Jack the documents and backed away a couple feet. Jack signed the forms and their copies and handed them back to the mayor. Jack went from the look of a killer to a smile and surprised handshake for the mayor. "Glad to be here" Jack said in an honest tone. Everything in his mind that held any form of aggression was gone. The mayor turned around with an extremely shocked face and left the farm with it on. Jack giggled and went inside his house to find it poorly furnished.

"All things considered, this is much better than I expected." Jack said throwing himself on a bed. He didn't even bother writing in the old diary next to him.


End file.
